Recently, standardization on metadata is going on in SMPTE (Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers) and the semantics for an essence specifying the contents or a wrapper meaning metadata and the essence combined together have been defined. Moreover, proposals have been made for the KLV (key length value) protocol or the UMID (unique material identifier) as a data structure of metadata and for a metadata dictionary as a collection of specified metadata per se, and the corresponding standardization is also proceeding.
Meanwhile, in a broadcasting station, shortage in programme software is posing a problem due to advent of multiple channels and multi-media, so that it is becoming crucial how the programme software is procured to improve the services as the cost is minimized and as the programme quality, that is the quality of the contents, is maintained. This is tantamount to how video/audio data can be processed efficiency in the sequence of the processing operations from acquisition and preparation until editing, transmission and archiving, such that medium asset management including a structure of an archiving system for re-utilization of past programmes is an incumbent task.